Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) 2026: summary of changes

CASPAR briefing

Publication date July 2026

Key changes introduced in Keeping children safe in education 2026

The Department for Education (DfE) has published updates to the statutory safeguarding and child protection guidance for schools in England, Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE).¹

The 2026 edition of the guidance is currently for information only and will come into force on 1 September 2026.

The guidance sets out what schools and colleges in England must do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18. This briefing summarises the changes to the guidance.

The changes for KCSIE 2026 include new and updated guidance around:

regulations and safeguarding requirements on school premises
children requiring mental health support
young carers
children who are questioning their gender
safer recruitment and regulated activity.

Summary of changes introduced by Keeping children safe in education 2026
Download the briefing (PDF)

> Read our CASPAR briefing on Keeping children safe in education – updates from 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 (PDF)

2025 updates made to KCSIE

These include:

the DfE's Working together to improve school attendance is now statutory guidance
changes to the list of content risks under online safety, adding in disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories
more information on the DfE guidance on generative artificial intelligence (AI)
additional information on, and clarity around, alternative provision guidance
clarity on Virtual School Heads and their non-statutory responsibilities around children in kinship care.

2024 updates made to KCSIE

These include:

amending the definition of ‘safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children’ in line with Working together to safeguard children 2023
additional information around when children may require early help, in accordance with the guidance in Working together
a recommendation for school staff, governors and trustees to use the DfE Data Protection guidance for schools to understand data protection
clarification that schools continue to be responsible for the safeguarding of pupils they place with an alternative provision provider.

2023 updates made to KCSIE

These include:

clarification around the roles and responsibilities of education staff in relation to filtering and monitoring
clarification that being absent, as well as missing, from education can be warning sign of a range of safeguarding concerns, including sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation
additional information on online pre-recruitment checks for shortlisted candidates
information on responding to allegations related to organisations or individuals using school premises.

2022 updates made to KCSIE

These include:

incorporating the DfE’s advice on Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges
setting out the safeguarding implications for schools of human rights and equality legislation
providing more information on managing low level concerns
reinforcing the importance of talking to parents about children’s access to online sites when away from school.

CASPAR briefings

Our CASPAR briefings help people working or volunteering with children and young people understand changes to safeguarding and child protection policy and guidance. They also summarise key research and reports from independent bodies such as Ofsted and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

See the full list of briefings

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